I like to relate my college experience to believing in Santa Claus. I arrived on Cabrini’s campus with visions of sugarplums and keggers, and that earnest hope that my comforter and plastic storage bins would always match.
For a long time, I really believed that college would be everything the National Lampoon franchise promised me it would be. And then my dreams were shattered and I realized that I had fallen for a really ingenious hoax that millions of people across the world still believed.
Freshman, I don’t mean to sound pretentious, nor do I aim to ruin your college experience. By all means, live up your four years here and make all those stupid mistakes that you’re supposed to make before you get to the real world.
However, remember that once you reach that point when you start applying for (eek!) internships, you’re going to need more to put on your resume than just your part-time job as a life guard all throughout high school.
I know the term ‘getting involved’ is something you’ve come across in every college-related piece of literature you’ve seen over the past two years, but as cliché as it is, it makes sense.
Lucky for you, Cabrini has tons of different clubs and teams that you can be a part of. Besides having basketball, lacrosse, soccer, swimming and tennis teams, there’s frisbee and dodgeball clubs that don’t come with the pressure of long practices and laps around the field.
If you aren’t athletically inclined (much like myself) there are any number of clubs to choose from. Student Government Association, Commuter Crew, Dance Team, Sociology Club, Campus Activities, Programming and lastly Theater are only a sampling of the things you could put under your ‘Activities’ section on Facebook.
Don’t forget about the radio station known as WYBF. You’ve probably seen them on move-in day, blasting music and giving out prizes. If you opt to get involved with the station, you could even have your own radio show. Yes, your own radio show. How many of your friends at those big state schools can say that?
My point is, getting involved doesn’t have to mean that you’re completely giving up your social life or abandoning your weekends. What it does mean is that you’re not just an ID number to people on this campus.
Once you start actually putting yourself out there, your professors and your classmates are going to start realizing that you, as a member of whatever club or team you choose, are involved and actually care about what’s going on.
Since getting involved, I’ve gotten to sit on the board for the Senior Class Gift, been invited to be a member of the Alumni Association, been elected president of two clubs and become an editor of an award-winning college newspaper. Sure, sometimes it’s overkill and I run out of room in my planner, but I’ve met my closest friends by just getting over my shy, awkward, freshman stage and just putting myself out there.
Call it getting involved, blame it on your parents for making you do something on campus so their money isn’t wasted, but find at least one way during your four years here to get involved. I promise it’ll be way worth it in the end.
